I love credit cards so much!

[belle1986]

My CSP bonus points finally posted, so I went to book Pop and the taxes and fees are coming up to the same price as the room for three nights?!? What's going on?

 

[Livelovedance]

Depending on how much you spend on groceries, it may be wise to upgrade to the Blue Cash Preferred or open a new one for sign-up bonus. You get 6% back in grocery spend per year. A lot of the grocery stores sell both SW and Disney Gift cards, so that is 6% CB right there. You also get 3% back from gas. I had the Blue Cash before, and once I crunched the numbers, with the the AF, I make out ahead.

We also use the Disney Premier for the 2% back at Disney, 10% discount on merch purchases (if you don't have AP or DVC), and the photo op in Epcot. I think they also have a $200 signup bonus too right now.

Those are our cards and are the only ones we use day to day.

at some point on the thread, its just too much information. It is a good thing you ask straight out.

It really depends on what you spend your money on the most. It sounds like Marriott and Southwest are the 2 you want to redeem on. The best suggestion would be one of the general cards. Chase Sapphire Reserve(has the $450 AF) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred($95 fee). both cards allow you to send your points to Marriott and southwest. The Freedom can also send their points over to the Sapphire line and then to the marriott and southwest too.

CSR($450)
3x travel
$300 credit(this tech brings your AF down to $150)
Priority lounge membership
GE or TSA pre credit
a host of a bunch of insurance

CSP($95)
2x travel
Free AU
waived AF for the first year.

Thank you for your responses! I don't do the grocery shopping so that wouldn't work, but that is a very nice percentage back! I have the AP so I don't think the Disney card would end up being worthwhile for the benefits. I'm definitely going to consider the CSP. I can't take the plunge on the CSR, the $450 AF makes me way too nervous lol.

Thanks again, I'm so glad I asked my questions here before making a decision. I didn't think about the general cards and it sounds like they will definitely be more worthwhile!

 

[brownhaired_girl]

Fingers crossed, but I'm not even worried. Almost all CIP (business card) applications seem to go to the 30-days message. Just follow the flow chart posted a few pages back:



And keep calling the automated status line to check if your application has moved any:



If and when it gets approved, you can call CIP customer service at 800-945-2028 to request your card expedited to you.

Good luck!

I called last night and got the 30 day message. I called again this morning and got approved message. Card will be here soon. I want to thank everyone here for the knowledge you share. It feels like friends I just haven't met.

 

[calypso726]

Thank you for your responses! I don't do the grocery shopping so that wouldn't work, but that is a very nice percentage back! I have the AP so I don't think the Disney card would end up being worthwhile for the benefits. I'm definitely going to consider the CSP. I can't take the plunge on the CSR, the $450 AF makes me way too nervous lol.

Thanks again, I'm so glad I asked my questions here before making a decision. I didn't think about the general cards and it sounds like they will definitely be more worthwhile!

I had a feeling that the CSR annual fee might make you nervous which is why I recommended the CSP instead of the CSR in my long novel of a response to you

 

[Livelovedance]

@Livelovedance -

Ok, now to answer questions. The Freedom is one of my favorite cards for the category bonuses. However, on its own, isn't very valuable to me. I know you're nervous about annual fee cards but I'm still going to recommend one to you and it's the Chase Sapphire Preferred. The points can be used as cash to redeem through the travel portal and can also be transferred to airlines, including Southwest. Prior to the CSR card I had the CSP card ($95 annual fee) and would transfer my UR points from the Freedom to the CSP so I could then transfer them directly to airlines which often gave me far more value than the 1.25 I could redeem with the CSP as cash in the travel portal. To break even on the CSP's AF you'd need to earn well over 9500 UR points each year. Since you can earn 30,000 UR points with the Freedom by maxing out the bonus categories and transfer those UR points to the CSP then it's an easy card for to pay an AF since the 30,000 UR points would be $375 instead of $300 in the travel portal. These points could be worth more than that by transferring to an airline that has award availability on a high cost ticket. This is not even taking into account how many points I would have earned with the CSP in the 2x dining and travel categories. Currently, the bonus offer is 50,000 UR points (worth $625 in the UR portal) for $4,000 spend in the first 3 months and the AF is waived the first year.

We use our DVA account to pay for all of our Disney trips. We load it with Disney gift cards that we have purchased either at a discount or at 5x with the Freedom or Ink+. I know some have had issues with the DVA, but so far we haven't had any serious issues.

Thank you for the very detailed response! You gave me a lot to think about! I am definitely considering the CSP, because it sounds like it will be very worthwhile with the CF that I currently have. Is the 50,000 points a good bonus, or should I be holding out for a different one? I'm clearly clueless on credit card points and values!

I can't believe the DVA is closing! I had just looked into it the day before I posted here, and I had a gift card all ready to open an account with. Oh well...

Thanks again for all of your advice! I'm hoping to save enough to make my next WDW birthday trip the trip of a lifetime! You've helped me feel more confident that this will become a reality!

 

[LYSE]

So the problem with BA showing American awards is fixed now, but now I have another question for you guys....

This time booking with American Points (On American) I called aadvantage to see about changing an award flight from coach saver to fist saver since First was now showing availability...well i thought we booked it under my wife's account (who has more miles than I do, so I figured with a refund on the original booking we would have enough to re book in first) turns out it was booked using my account which would mean i'm 10k points sky of rebooking in first...well some how the rep just went ahead and re booked it anyway and now when I check online I see a cost summary for more points than I have and the status of ticket pending...any idea what gives??

 

[LynnTH]

Two Questions for all of you experts.

1. I have the SPG and the Chase Marriott. It would make more sense to use the SPG to get points as it would be 1 point SPG and 3 point Marriott instead of using the Marriott which would be 1 point Marriott and 1/3 point SPG. Is that correct??

2. Just waiting for my SW points to post and I will have the companion pass. We have a family vacation booked for December and flights already booked. So, my plan was to make my DD my companion and then I could cancel her ticket and book her as a companion. I had already purchased the Early Bird Check in for everyone. How do I go about doing this so I won't lose that on her?

 

[Albort]

Two Questions for all of you experts.

1. I have the SPG and the Chase Marriott. It would make more sense to use the SPG to get points as it would be 1 point SPG and 3 point Marriott instead of using the Marriott which would be 1 point Marriott and 1/3 point SPG. Is that correct??

thats how i see it, once my typ card promo end, i plan to use the spg as my 1x everything card. I do find SPG points better to use in airline transfer or at spg hotels. not marriott... rather use UR points to marriott if i need to.

 

[pbb&j]

My CSP bonus points finally posted, so I went to book Pop and the taxes and fees are coming up to the same price as the room for three nights?!? What's going on?

Yeah, I posted about that problem a few pages back. I have no idea why that shows up from time to time, but it seems to mostly impact the value resorts. I can only suggest trying again another day (because it seems to come and go), or pick a different resort. I never tried calling, however, but I didn't find the Chase reps to know much about booking other than what they could see.

 

[platamama]

Two Questions for all of you experts.

1. I have the SPG and the Chase Marriott. It would make more sense to use the SPG to get points as it would be 1 point SPG and 3 point Marriott instead of using the Marriott which would be 1 point Marriott and 1/3 point SPG. Is that correct??

2. Just waiting for my SW points to post and I will have the companion pass. We have a family vacation booked for December and flights already booked. So, my plan was to make my DD my companion and then I could cancel her ticket and book her as a companion. I had already purchased the Early Bird Check in for everyone. How do I go about doing this so I won't lose that on her?

1. Yes, makes more sense to use SPG over Chase Marriott.

2. You can cancel DD's ticket, but those ticketless funds (if you paid with actual money) can only be used for her, no one else (that was a change made a few years ago), and expire in 12 months from the original booking date (meaning travel has to be done in that 12 month period) and after that, the funds expire. Unless you booked with RR points, in which case those RR points go back to the account they came from (one of the best parts of Southwest's RR program) with no such restrictions. Early Bird is nonrefundable, sorry, per the website. https://www.southwest.com/html/generated/help/faqs/earlybird_checkin_faq.html

I always book one ways on Southwest, never a round trip, since that makes grabbing fare changes easier. I don't book my companion right away, instead I keep an eye on availability and fares and add the companion on at a later date. This is because grabbing fare changes with a linked companion is more complicated. First, you have to cancel the companion ticket, wait for that to clear Southwest's system, then change your ticket, wait for that to clear, then add your companion. Sometimes it's instant, sometimes not. I've seen Southwest fares fluctuate throughout the day and fluctuate depending on whether you're looking for 1 ticket or 2 or 3 etc (bc they have limited seats at $xx, then the seat price increases once they hit that number), so I rather remain as nimble as possible. I hope you get a lot of use out of your CP!

 

[Tikitoi]

Not good with math here so just wondering how much do you have to actually spend to reach the maximum reward benefits on the Chase Freedom per quarter...Thanks

 

[LYSE]

Not good with math here so just wondering how much do you have to actually spend to reach the maximum reward benefits on the Chase Freedom per quarter...Thanks

1500

 

[Eighty8Keys]

Not good with math here so just wondering how much do you have to actually spend to reach the maximum reward benefits on the Chase Freedom per quarter...Thanks

$1,500 per quarter.

 

[gottalovepluto]

So the problem with BA showing American awards is fixed now, but now I have another question for you guys....

This time booking with American Points (On American) I called aadvantage to see about changing an award flight from coach saver to fist saver since First was now showing availability...well i thought we booked it under my wife's account (who has more miles than I do, so I figured with a refund on the original booking we would have enough to re book in first) turns out it was booked using my account which would mean i'm 10k points sky of rebooking in first...well some how the rep just went ahead and re booked it anyway and now when I check online I see a cost summary for more points than I have and the status of ticket pending...any idea what gives??

You might have a real mess on your hands. I have no personal experience with what you're doing. I do know American does wonky ticketing. I had an award ticket that was messed up somehow and it took them like a week to "ticket" it because the system kept kicking me out and they had no idea why.

To me, it sounds like your ticket hasn't been issued yet so the miles haven't been pulled yet. I don't know how American handles award bookings when you booked without enough miles to pay. Honestly, I'd contact American and explain the situation because from my brief google search you can't transfer miles to other people without paying under their "Share Miles" program (wanna transfer 10K miles? That will be $100 transfer fee). https://buymiles.americanairlines.com/en/share

ETA: I really am not trying to panic you, and I do hope everything is a-ok. this is all IMHO

 

[calypso726]

@LYSE - This isn't a situation that I would be familiar with but I did want to let you know that AA is currently running a 30% off promo for shared miles.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Oh Chase why do you treat me so? Applied for Disney card, got 30 day message online, 2 week message on phone, 2 days later that's back to 30 day message. I think I've maxed out the credit they'll extend to me so I hope they shuffle some around and that's the only problem...

 

[Lain]

Not good with math here so just wondering how much do you have to actually spend to reach the maximum reward benefits on the Chase Freedom per quarter...Thanks

I'm not sure where math is involved. Chase says explicitly:

July 1 - September 30, 2017
Cardmembers will earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases* in these categories: RESTAURANTS and MOVIE THEATERS

Just make sure you spend at restaurants and movie theaters to get the 5% reward on those purchases.

 

[LYSE]

Thanks Guys, I'm aware of the sharing promo they have going on and it may be our way out of this, sucks to pay that fee though...the other option if it doesn't work out would be to cancel and pay to get the miles reinstated..I think that should be $75 then just book through BA with the current bonus with Amex...either way looks like I'm now going to be out of pocket more than 11 dollars :-/

I suppose I could also just remove my wife from the reservation and have her re book on her own..although that's risky since the awards like to just vanish (had that happen to us once already, booked separately but the 2nd person had to pay non saver prices...)

hmm Maybe i'll let the dust settle for a few days and call back when the ticketing doesn't go through (trip isn't until February)

 

[LYSE]

Update....I have no idea what happened

Status is now showing ticketed....I will have to ask my wife to check her account..maybe this rep used some of her miles somehow? I am so confused...

 

[wendow]

... rather use UR points to marriott if i need to.

I've been trying to google how it works going from UR to Marriott but all I keep coming up with is people going from UR to Marriott to SPG. I'm really considering booking the new Courtyard by Marriott outside DL for next May but I can't figure out whether it is better to transfer my UR points to Marriott. I've never moved points like that. Do UR points transfer better over to Marriott?